


bury an enemy

by revoleotion



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Other, Riko is dead, and I don't know what to make out of it, kevin learns how to deal with his trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-11
Updated: 2019-03-11
Packaged: 2019-11-15 17:30:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18077840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/revoleotion/pseuds/revoleotion
Summary: Kevin learns that Riko died and doesn't really know how to deal with it. But he has someone he can call.





	bury an enemy

**Author's Note:**

> This was one (of many) One Shot I wrote for Liam's birthday. You showed me this amazing book series and I love you for it.  
> I don't want to sound like I absolutely love Riko but I try to write him as neutral as I can. There is some mention of trauma in this, be careful.  
> Also, I will forever be part of the Kevin Day defense squad, he is so amazing.  
> Enjoy!!

He woke up and regretted it immediately. He had more alcohol left in his body than ever and his muscles ached and asked him for a few more minutes of sleep. Kevin Day turned his head and ignored his tiredness. He climbed out his bed, made a few steps into his bedroom and stopped as he could hear voices from the hallway.   
“... has to hear it from you, he will kill me.”   
Nicky sounded honestly scared. Kevin jumped and reminded himself that he was free and he had no reason to be frightened anymore. His head protested as he opened the door and asked loudly: “What happened?”   
Neil, Nicky and Matt froze in the middle of the hallway. Kevin didn't trust Matt or Nicky with anything serious, that's why he turned to Neil and glared at him. Neil glared back.    
He wasn't scared but he didn't look happy either. He looked satisfied.    
“Riko is dead”, Neil said.    
A world collapsed around Kevin. He had expected him to feel something different when this happened (deep inside, Kevin had known that Riko would die, that a lost game would kill him). He faintly remembered gripping the frame of his door to keep himself from falling, but he still didn't understand why the world spun around him.    
"Are you sure?", Kevin finally asked.   
Neil nodded and looked down. Kevin took a deep breath, inhaled the cold air and exhaled the pain.    
“Sorry for calling you a coward”, Neil said.   
“You never called me a coward.”    
Kevin touched the tattoo to defend himself - it was the ultimate sign that he had stood up for himself, and it was worth everything it had cost. Almost everything. Neil looked at him like he knew exactly what Kevin was thinking.    
“I never said it to your face.”   
Kevin shot him a look that should've murdered Neil on the spot. He turned around to grab his keys, closed the door and walked past Neil.   
Neil didn't ask where he was going. Kevin and Neil didn't value each other outside the court.    
Kevin walked past Foxes in the hallway and ignored their reactions. He didn't want any pity but he couldn't see the triumph in their faces just yet. A numb pain had started to spread from his heard and it was suffocating him. He dialed the number of his coach once he left the dorm.    
“Hel-”   
“Neil told me. Is it true?”, Kevin yelled into his phone. He had to raise his voice, otherwise he would've burst into tears.    
Wymack cursed a colorful chain of insults before he forced a “yes” out of his throat.    
Kevin couldn't breathe. His tattoo burned because he had forgotten to take care of it last evening and in the morning. Panic took over, panic he had never expected to feel. The loss of his first friend and biggest enemy left a hole in his stomach that he couldn't fill just yet.    
“Why?”, he managed to ask.    
“Are you stupid? Because we won.”   
Kevin gasped at the insult and almost smashed his phone to the floor. He counted to ten and then to twenty because it didn't help.    
“You can't be sad about this.” Wymack's voice had gotten softer but still not soft enough for anyone but Kevin to notice.    
“I'm not sad”, Kevin snapped back. But he had no other word for it either. He had a headache, he had drunk too much alcohol last night and his muscles were still sore from the game. But the pain in his chest wasn't physical.    
“Do you need something to drink?”, Wymack asked.    
Kevin swallowed and looked down on his feet. The tattoo burned.   
“I don't know”, he answered. “I need to work on my anxiety management mechanisms.”   
The small laugh was louder than Kevin's panic. For a few seconds, he was a blank canvas, he felt nothing and the air in his lungs was offering him a fresh start. He lingered at the impulse to go back, to drown himself in panic and alcohol. But Kevin wasn't in second place anymore. The king was dead. Long lived the queen.    
“What is a queen without her king?”, he asked his father.   
“Better, believe me.”   
Kevin was ready to believe him. He sighed quietly and touched his new tattoo.    
“Can I trade the vodka for breakfast and coffee?”   
And a long talk about what would happen now. A long talk about game techniques and memories and a long talk that would help Kevin to finally heal. 


End file.
